10 things to know about IRS operations during the coronovirus pandemic

Posted by Jeffrey Siegel on April 7, 2020

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These are truly trying times for everyone. For
the Internal Revenue Service, our nation’s tax (and now stimulus)
administrator, times are about to get even more hectic.

The IRS is in the middle of a perfect storm.
It’s in the midst of a busy filing season — with about 70 million individual
tax returns still to be processed (as of March 20) for the 2020 tax year. The
IRS is doing this work with about 20,000 less employees that it had 10 years
ago. Now, with the passage of the CARES Act and other COVID-19 assistance laws,
the IRS will have one of the most important and urgent jobs in our country:
distributing many of the benefits in the stimulus package, including
determining and distributing stimulus payments. It will also have to make
significant changes to its returns processing and operations to account for all
of the Tax Code relief changes found in the many new coronavirus relief
provisions.

The IRS is adjusting its operations

This perfect storm requires the IRS to make
significant adjustments to the way it does business. Until the COVID-19
epidemic is well behind us, the IRS will be doing its best to conduct business
as usual while helping taxpayers by administering many of the recently passed
COVID-19 relief provisions. For example, the IRS is urgently working on
building remote work capability for many of its 70,000-plus employees — most of
whom usually work from IRS locations and offices throughout the country. This
transition will take some time in order to return to normal operations. In some
cases, operations will not return to normal until well after the pandemic is
over.

The IRS does have some experience in providing
stimulus payments to taxpayers from the 2001 and 2008 recovery programs.
However, the COVID-19 relief provisions are not as simple as the 2001 and 2008
programs — and they need to be implemented much more quickly than prior relief
efforts.

For taxpayers and tax professionals,
interacting with the IRS during the pandemic will be much different than
normal. Here are 10 important things you should expect from IRS operations and
interacting with the IRS until our country gets back to normal:

1. IRS.gov is the
first place to answer your questions

IRS Operations, even under normal operations, cannot handle a
flood of stimulus payment questions. Taxpayers should first look to the IRS’s
coronavirus news and updates at IRS.gov/coronavirus. Critical future updates will be posted on the
website — and most of taxpayers’ questions will be addressed on that site. For
example, the IRS plans to soon provide an online tool that will allow
taxpayers to provide their bank account information (if the IRS does not have
it already) for direct deposit of the stimulus payment. Many taxpayers are
trying to call the IRS (and not getting an answer) to get stimulus payment
answers when the best update will come from the IRS’s coronavirus webpage.

2. Live assistance is
very limited

IRS phone lines are likely to be down for several weeks and
Taxpayer Assistance Centers are closed indefinitely. Many IRS hotlines are not
operational. This includes most service and all compliance hotlines (i.e.,
automated underreporter, collection functions, correspondence exams, etc.). Tax
professional phone assistance through the Practitioner Priority Service line
and local Taxpayer Assistance Centers is also unavailable. Taxpayers and tax
professionals should not fear missed deadlines or enforcement activity, as the
IRS has suspended almost all compliance activity (audits, collection, etc.)
through July 15. The message here from the IRS is that we all can wait until
July 15 to sort out any issues.

3. The IRS will be
hard to reach, even after the pandemic is over

As in the “Great Shutdown of 2019,” the backlog of people
needing to contact the IRS, taxpayer correspondence, and tax season filing
issues will consume many of the IRS’s resources well after the pandemic is
over. The IRS is planning to provide other means of submitting documents to the
IRS (i.e., by use of email or increased access to the IRS by new e-fax lines).
However, the IRS will still have a mountain of correspondence and clogged phone
lines after normal operations resume.

4. You can put that
audit on hold — unless it deals with a refund hold situation

The IRS announced, in its “People First Initiative” that all new
audits are suspended — and will be scheduled to resume after July 15. However,
it is realistic to expect the IRS to use its audit power to stop suspicious or
erroneous refunds. Taxpayers with questionable refunds (e.g., Earned Income Tax
Credit returns, returns with highly questionable items, suspected identity
theft returns, wage verification issues) will likely see IRS filing filters
stopping their refunds until the taxpayer can verify the return. These refund
freeze audits should continue to occur and be a source of taxpayer frustration
as taxpayers will not be able to get an immediate response from the IRS until
operations return to normal. Taxpayers with a hardship may seek immediate
assistance from their local Taxpayer Advocate Service office.

5. If you owe back
taxes, you have a temporary reprieve

IRS Collection enforcement is halted through July 15. Also, as a
part of the People First Initiative, all liens, levies and passport
restrictions are put on hold. IRS processing of pending collection
alternatives, including offers in compromises, are on hold through July 15.
Taxpayers can still go online to the IRS’s Online Payment Agreement tool
if they want to set up a new payment plan on a balance owed.

6. IRS will not
require your monthly installment agreement payment

The IRS announced in its “People First Initiative” that
taxpayers are not required to make a monthly payment, from April 1 through July
15, on an established IRS installment agreement. Taxpayers who make payments by
check will simply not make their payments during this time — and the IRS will
not “default” their agreement. However, if you pay by direct debit through your
bank account, you may be out of luck. The IRS initially stated that taxpayers
should contact their bank to stop the drafted payment. Most banks have stated
that they cannot stop the draft and taxpayers need to contact the IRS directly
to void the draft.

Taxpayers are in a pickle: IRS phone lines are closed, so taxpayers cannot
contact the IRS to “skip” the automatic payments during this time. Also, the
IRS is not automatically suspending direct debit payments. The IRS has not
provided any guidance on how it will enable taxpayers to initiate a skip on
their scheduled drafted payments. More to come on this issue (see IRS.gov/coronovirus).
Again, taxpayers with a hardship should contact the local Taxpayer Advocate for
help in skipping automatic payments.

7. IRS Transcripts are
usually your best method to answer to account-related questions

Many “account-related” questions can be answered by reviewing
IRS transcripts. Prior AGI, amount of estimated tax payments made, and amount
of penalties assessed are examples of common questions that can be answered on
an IRS account transcript. Taxpayers can also get a copy of their last three
years tax returns (an IRS tax return transcript) and their W-2s/1099s for the
past 10 years (an IRS wage and income transcript). Taxpayers can access these
transcripts immediately by setting up an IRS online account and using the IRS “Get
Transcript”” tool. Taxpayers can also call the automated “Get Transcript”
hotline and order their transcripts to be delivered to their address on record
with the IRS.

8. TAS can be reached
if you have a hardship — but you must call your local office

This includes taxpayers who have a refund hold and are
experiencing a financial hardship. The TAS Central hotline is closed — but
taxpayers can contact their local advocate by phone. A list of the TAS can be
found here:

9. The IRS is still
processing tax returns and it is best to file as soon as possible

Most stimulus payments will be determined from filed 2019
returns (or 2018, if 2019 is not yet filed). It is a good time to file required
back tax returns, especially for those who have not filed a 2018 and 2019
return. These returns can be e-filed and accepted in a day. The IRS also
announced that those who do have not needed to file in the past may need to do
so to obtain a stimulus payment. Per the IRS: “IRS.gov/coronovirus will
soon provide information instructing people in these groups on how to file a
2019 tax return with simple, but necessary, information including their filing
status, number of dependents and direct deposit bank account information.”

As part of the stimulus relief, the IRS will not apply the
amount of the stimulus payment against any balances owed. There is one
exception when the IRS will take the taxpayer’s stimulus payment: to pay a
taxpayer’s delinquent child support obligations. Otherwise, all taxpayers,
regardless of whether they owe tax debt or not, will receive their stimulus
payment.

Taxpayers should also know that although IRS operations are administering the
stimulus payments, they do not make the rules on who gets relief and how much
is paid. Congress, in the various laws enacted, makes these rules. As in any
law, there can be some that are left out. For example, many college students
who are dependents of their parents will not see most direct benefits from the
stimulus packages. Taxpayers with comments about the CARES Act and other
enacted laws should direct them to their elected officials, not the IRS.

Need back tax help in Kansas City? Bank account levied in Kansas City? Paycheck garnished in Kansas City? Lien on business or home in Kansas City? If
you or a client need help fighting off the IRS, call Jeffrey R. Siegel, your
Kansas City tax attorney. We help with
IRS liens, wage garnishments, levies, offers in compromise, innocent spouse
relief, federal employment tax, Trust Fund Recovery Penalty and installment
agreements. Bring back some stability to
your life, and call (913) 735-4829.

The hiring of an attorney is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertisements. The information contained in this website is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as offering legal advice, or creating an attorney client relationship between the reader and the author. You should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included in this Website without seeking appropriate legal advice about your individual facts and circumstances from an attorney licensed in your state. Jeffrey R. Siegel is licensed to practice law in Kansas, Missouri, California, Colorado and Maryland.